


Graveyard Shift

by Renegade_Revivalist



Category: gen:LOCK (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Body Dysphoria, Body Horror, Can people please stop practicing necromancy on Julian Chase? Please?, Death, Dehumanization, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Undeath, Mental Anguish, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Suffering, The union sucks, War, as a treat, but its mostly him at himself, jk there might be a bit of, julian was kidnapped and tortured by the union and all he got out of it was ptsd symptoms, only hurt no comfort, we are REDEEMING this son of a bitch and it will be full of SUFFERING
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:48:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Renegade_Revivalist/pseuds/Renegade_Revivalist
Summary: What a way to go out. Held in the arms of his own damned copy as he reveals the sinister truth, something that was meant to push the very one that stole his life over the edge, and make him finally deliver him the release of death.Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to go.----An AU where after the battle of Chicago, Nemesis' remains are sent to Rtasa for study, where they make the decision to repair his brain, and decide to help after accidentally bringing him back from the dead.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 10





	Graveyard Shift

“ _Just a copy, of a copy, of a copy, of a_ **_copy_ _!_** ”  
  
 _What a way to go out._ Held in the arms of his own damned copy as he reveals the sinister truth, something that was meant to push the very one that _stole his life_ over the edge, and make him finally deliver him the release of death.  
  
Or at least, _that’s how it was supposed to go.  
_  
Now it was just dark.  
No _, worse than dark._ It was nothing. A void. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t feel. He couldn’t hear.  
 _But he was thinking.  
_ It had been a long time since he hoped for anything, but now, he _desperately_ hoped this wasn’t what death was. Isolation torture. Something the Union had made sure to acquaint him with. The idea of spending the rest of _eternity_ in it….That was enough to shake him. Just a bit.   
  
**> Hello? **

A word suddenly pierces its way into his mind, stabbing its way in with such force that he could not possibly ignore it. 

> _?? ???? ??????_

He wishes he could, but it seems the answer is already drawn from him. He knew he could just turn back, stop responding whenever he felt like it, then this strange entity would likely leave him alone, and let what remained of him decay and fade away into obscurity. 

> **Is there anyone in here?**

_Or not.  
_ This still wasn’t the point of no return.  
……..Nah. Better to actively try and push it away. 

  
_ > So this is what death is like. _ _  
__ > I was expecting it to be _ _  
__ > Quieter. _

**> You’re not dead. ** **  
**

_ > Thats a shame. _

**> We have reason to believe that the mind currently occupying this belongs to Julian Chase, can you confirm this?** **  
****  
**That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? If he had eyes- Even one, he might have tried to roll it, but there wasn’t, so he didn’t.  
  
 _ > I ask myself the same thing.   
  
.... _

No further response. It looked like whoever it was had lost interest. _Good._ With all that said and done, Nemesis intended to return to his thoughts, try and find something to occupy him as whatever remained of his sanity slipped away.

That is, if there even was any of _that_ left.

* * *

Some time passes before he thinks again. He isn't sure how he knows, he just feels like it has. Someone must have disconnected his brain from whatever power source they were using. He didn't know how long he was out. He didn't know if he was even _out_ to begin with, whoever he was with could have just erased his memories between then and now. All he knew was that this time he was more than a mind, he had a _body_ , the same, terrible one the union has oh-so-kindly provided him with. _Powerful,_ stocked to the brim with weaponry and the likes. A perfect killing machine, which was now broken, he was broken, and any engineer with a brain would be able to tell that he was _hardly_ fit for a fight. Not that he wouldn’t try to anyway.  
That was the least of his concerns, though, as Nemesis was now aware that alongside the fact that he was in a body, there was now a world around him once again, and _boy_ was it _bright_.   
_Way_ yy _Too_ bright.  
Maybe the Union brought him back? No. From what he could tell, wherever he stood was nothing like a Union facility. Too much white in the color scheme. It looked like everything around him was low resolution mess of bright, white, light, all colors he had grown to despise now that he had one eye, which was incapable of closing or squinting to offer any relief from problems like this. So, he opts for the next best thing, attempting to move his right hand- Nevermind. It was gone. Useless. His back right hand?- Also gone, also useless.  
He was lucky to find that some of his left arms remained. He was missing any hands, but he could at least use his forearm as a sort of shield from the light as he adjusts. His body shudders, unable to fully display how infuriated he was by this, by being _back_ , and worst of all, being assaulted with all this _light_ and _noise._ The sound of a crowd of people, endlessly chattering around him. His eye follows the conversation, jarringly moving as he tries to focus on only one speaker at a time. 

_“I can’t believe this worked-”_ _  
__“- We need to report this to Holcroft Immediately”_ _  
__“-Forget Holcroft, someone needs to tell Dr. Jha!”_ _  
__“-Wow, they really did a number on him.” That one sounded familiar. Who said that? Did they matter?_ Not enough, his eye swivels to follow the sudden movement of a man with blue hair turning to speak to a woman in a lab coat, his voice is hushed, like that could _somehow_ keep Nemesis from hearing him.  
 _“-You disabled his ability to send out any signals, right?_ ”  
 _Good question._ He tries to send out a signal to any nearby union broadcasters, head twitching to the side for a moment as he does. _Come. Take me back. They couldn't kill me. I have more work to do._ No cries for help. No begging for them to not leave him behind. Those were things a weak man would do, and from his experience, they wouldn’t respond well to that. They might not respond _at all._ He couldn’t remember the last time anyone did, then again, he couldn’t remember much in general.  
He waits for a reply, or any indication that he sent out a signal at all.  
 _...  
_ _Nothing.  
_ It looked like whoever he was dealing with really _did_ cut him off.   
_How clever of them._ _  
_ _Now, if they could just figure out how to_ ** _shut. Up!_** ** _  
_**Nemesis adjusts his balance, the steps of his awful peg legs echo off the ground, grabbing the attention of most of the humans around him. They are still speaking, some lower their voices to whispers. Not that it changed anything for him, he could hear _everything._  
Oh. He takes notice that there was one moving part of his system that wasn’t damaged- The face mask. That was strange. He could have sworn it had been shot clean off by a sniper rifle; what was it doing back on?  
That was a question for later. Right now, it was a tool that he could use, nothing else about it should concern him. He pulls it back, revealing a horrid metal grimace as he towers over all that surround him, then releases it, the guard slams shut with an echoing _Clack._ _  
_

_That_ **_certainly_ ** _got all their attention._ _  
_  
“ _None of you know how to be- be_ **_quiet_ **.” He breathes out. 

First words. and _of course they were a complaint about noise. Complaining about noise was one of his defining traits nowadays._ The remains of his arms sway back and forth as the scientists watch him in awe. They must not have expected him to speak. Very few did, very few _allowed_ it.  
  
“Woah, easy there-” One of them begins. _The one that sounded familiar._ Nemesis ignores their words, and zooms in on their face. 

Hold on.   
He really _did_ know him.  
Nemesis quickly identifies him as a previous prisoner of the Union, a scientist, just like the rest of the crowd, but any personal details, such as his name were lost on him. The Union rarely cared for such details. All that mattered was that he recognized the bastard, because he _helped make him the way he was,_ and then **escaped.** Now he was here, wherever Nemesis was, **_alive and well.  
_ ** Not for long. _Time to make a statement.  
_ Nemesis lunges forward, with what remains of his arm pulled back so he can thrust it downward, aiming for the scientists small body.  
  
A sharp “ _SHUT HIM DOWN!_ ” Is all Nemesis manages to hear before once again, he is plunged into darkness.

* * *

“Well, that was an ordeal and a half.”

If it hadn’t been for one of the security guards quickly pulling him away, Henry would have ended up crushed into paste by the giant metal being as it fell. Hell, he would have ended up with every bone in his body broken if they hadn’t managed to turn it off in time, since he had completely frozen up when it tried attacking him. There really _was_ something about having a mecha try to pummel you to death that made your whole body go “nope!”  
Now he was surrounded by just about _everyone_ present, the chatter is a little confusing, but he does hear someone mention how _weird_ it was that the mech targeted _him._ _Might have just been a coincidence,_ he thinks. Otherwise, everyone else was just asking if he was ok, in various tones and inflections, ranging from worry to anger. _  
_ _  
_“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He reassures them, sheepishly smiling as he holds his hands up to signal for everyone to slow down.  
“Maybe we...Shouldn’t have woken up the giant killer mecha. Just a thought.” He chuckles nervously as he speaks, everyone nods in agreement, still concerned for their colleague.  
  
“Just kidding, that was awesome. And hey! I’m not dead!”  
He spreads his arms out, emphasizing just how alive he was. Everything was fine, and it was going to be fine too, he was sure of it! Yes, Nemesis did decide to have his first action following reanimation be “Kill Henry”, which was already a clear sign that the G:L team were not joking about how awful Nemesis really was, but he still had _hope._  
Dealing with him….Would be a challenge, but if Holcroft gave the green light on it, he was certain they could pull through. And if not….It was best not to dwell on what would happen then. Failing to reach their goals with experimenting on the rogue holon would end poorly for everyone involved.  
No, experimenting wasn’t really a good word for that, it made it sound like they were treating whoever was in the mech like a toy. _Which he wasn’t,_ Henry reminds himself. _Not even if the tech he’s running on is really cool._ _  
_ _Overall, Henry thinks as he looks up at the beaten-up Holon- His would-be killer._  
  
 _I’m feeling optimistic._

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic! I've been hashing out the details for it for the past year or so, so I really hope it delivers. If it doesn't....Well, theres a lot more ahead of us.  
> I'd like to thank my awesome friend Cora (Crystalqueer), since without them I would never have this idea in the first place, everything about them is awesome.  
> I'd also like to thank the fantastic Tea (Got-dirt) for being my beta reader and common sense filter for all this, they're the coolest.  
> 


End file.
